West Indian Girl

Embracing a hallucinogenic strain of dream pop, the California-based neo-psychedelic outfit West Indian Girl starts from the modern template set by the Flaming Lips, Grandaddy, and Mercury Rev before folding in 1960s and 1970s resonances that stretch from the Velvet Underground’s droning freakout mode through the phased wanderings of early-’70s Pink Floyd to the Beach Boys’ spaced-out post-SMiLE phase. Although their sound suggests lifelong proximity to Laurel Canyon, the group’s origins trace to Detroit in the early 1990s, where singer-guitarist Robert James and bassist Francis Ten first crossed paths. Following Ten’s relocation to Los Angeles, the pair maintained their partnership by exchanging tapes until James eventually moved west to join him. Taking their name from a storied, high-potency strain of early street LSD, James and Ten signed with EMI’s alternative label Astralwerks and recruited a live ensemble that included backing vocalist and percussionist Mariqueen Maandig, keyboardist Chris Carter, and drummer Mark Lewis. After issuing their self-titled debut album in 2004, the band delivered a dance-focused remix EP in 2006; that same year Carter departed, and keyboardists Nathan Van Hala and Amy White came aboard. Once their two Astralwerks releases failed to generate significant attention, West Indian Girl parted ways with the label and aligned with the independent Milan Records, which slated their second studio album, 4th and Wall, for release in October 2007.